Ed Helms Will Play Rusty Griswold In New Vacation Movie

If you thought Ed Helms played a good emotionally-frazzled buddy in The Hangover movies, just wait until you see what happens when he’s saddled with his own family. Earlier this year, New Line hired Horrible Bosses writers John Francis Daly and Jonathan Goldstein to write and direct a new installment of the classic Vacation franchise, and with the script pretty close to completion, the directors have settled on Helms as their leading man.

The Office star will play Clark Griswold’s son Rusty, who, now grown, has his own wife and children to angrily shuttle around the country in a desperate attempt to have fun. Helms has long been rumored as a front-runner for the project, but according to Variety, his involvement is now official. The specifics of where he might usher his family to or what nonsense they might encounter are being held strictly under wraps. Luckily, there are also some other cast member rumors. An effort is supposedly under way to get Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo to return as the Griswold parents, and if they come on board, their presence, along with Helms’, should allow Daly and Goldstein to cast pretty much whoever they’d like in the supports. Unfortunately, with Randy Quaid up to some ludicrous shenanigans, I wouldn’t expect to see Cousin Eddie.

Remakes and sequels produced decades after the last entry are often greeted with worry and frustration, but let it be said this one actually seems to be coming together. I’m not promising it’ll live up to the original, but there’s no way in hell I won’t be there to give it a fair chance. And those who aren't in line next to me are probably all fucked in the head.